What does website design cost in Australia?

You asked three people what a website costs and got three different answers. None of them said what you'd get for the money. Below is what other firms publish, how we quote, why quotes differ, and how to check the one in front of you.

What do other firms say website design costs?

Five Australian agency guides put a small business website between $3,000 and $10,000. Their ranges mostly start at $5,000, some from $3,000. None of the five says whether its figures include GST. The guides are dated between October 2025 and October 2026, and the note at the end lists each one.

These are sellers' own ranges, not a survey of what owners paid, and they disagree. One studio guide puts a small business site at $1,500 to $3,500. An agency guide puts a theme-based site at $5,000 to $15,000. So there's no list price, and the cheapest total isn't automatically the safe one. What matters is what's in the quote.

What do we charge?

We don't publish a price list. Two "five-page sites" can be very different jobs, so we quote the job in front of us instead.

You tell us what your business does and what the site has to do. We suggest a scope, page by page, including what could wait. Then you get a written quote for exactly what's included; anything you add later is quoted before we start it. The chat and the written quote are free, and there's no obligation.

Our pricing page shows what one of our quotes looks like and what moves it.

Why do quotes for the same website differ so much?

Two quotes for a "five-page website" can describe very different jobs. Six things decide most of the gap, and each one has a question worth asking.

What moves a website quote, and what to ask
Price driver	Why it costs more	What to ask
Pages and screens	More pages mean more decisions about what goes where, not just more typing	Which pages are in the quote, by name?
What customers can do	Bookings, deposits, payments and logins add rules, testing and security	What can a customer do, and what isn't included?
Connected tools	Calendars, accounting software and payment providers each need wiring in and testing	Which tools does it connect to?
Words and photos	Writing or photography help is extra work, and should be its own line	Who writes the words and supplies the photos?
Who supplies what	If the quote assumes you'll supply the logo, words or logins and you can't, the price changes later	What do you need from me, and by when?
Timeline	A tight date can cost more, and so can slow feedback or late content	What dates are in the quote?

What do you pay after it's built?

A website has one build cost, then a few costs that repeat. Check that each is named in the quote, and whose name it's in.

Domain. The web address, renewed every year or two. It should be registered to your business, not your developer. Our post on who owns a website domain shows the two-minute check.
Hosting. The service that keeps the site live, priced monthly or yearly.
Email. Business email on your own domain is usually a separate service.
Changes after launch. New pages, new photos and fixes. Ask how a change is quoted.

Running costs vary a lot between guides. One hosting company's guide lists a .com.au domain at $20 to $50 a year and hosting from about $7 to $30 a month. It lists maintenance retainers at $90 to $2,000 or more a month. Another guide says agency support starts at $1,250 a month. These are sellers' figures.

With us, the choice after launch is yours. One option is a look-after plan for hosting, updates and support, which you can cancel any time. The other is a one-off hand-over where you run it yourself. The plan is quoted with your build.

How do you check a website quote?

A good quote is a list with a total at the bottom. Look for these five things:

The pages or screens, by name.
What's not included, written down.
The price ex GST, with the GST-inclusive figure beside it. GST is 10% on most goods and services sold in Australia (ATO, How GST works, last updated 14 September 2026).
What you supply, and by when.
Who owns the domain and accounts when the job ends.

Watch for three red flags. There's no list of what's included ("everything you need" isn't a list). There's nothing on what happens after launch. There's nothing about who owns the domain and accounts. If you see one, ask before you say no. A missing line is often quick to fix.

What should you do first?

Write one sentence on what the site must do, such as "get calls from people in my suburb".
List the pages you need, and what could wait for version two.
Find your logo, a few photos and your domain login.

Then ask each person for the same things, so the quotes compare: here's how to line them up. When you'd like ours, tell us about your business.

Sources and dates

Read on 7 October 2026. These are sellers' published figures, not a survey.

Five agency guides behind the range (date shown on each page; one gives more than one range on the same page):

Other guides read, for the points on disagreement and running costs:

Common questions

How much does a website cost in Australia?

Five Australian agency guides put a small business website between $3,000 and $10,000, and their ranges mostly start at $5,000, some from $3,000. Those are sellers' published ranges, not a survey of what owners paid. Your own quote depends on scope.

Why is my website quote different from a friend's?

The jobs usually differ. Pages, what customers can do, connected tools, who writes the words and what's left out all change the price. Compare what each quote includes before you compare the totals.

Is the cheapest website quote the safest?

Not by itself. A low total can mean fewer pages, no content help, or costs left out and added later. Ask what's included and what happens after launch.

Do website prices include GST?

Many price guides don't say. Ask for the price ex GST with the GST-inclusive figure beside it. This is general information, so check with the ATO or your accountant.

What does a website cost after it's built?

Usually a domain renewal, hosting, business email and a plan or rate for changes. Guides list wide ranges for each, so ask for them in writing and check that the domain and accounts are in your name.